Feminism (sample)

          

      How  women writers portray the treatment of women in West Indian and American works of the 19^th and 2oth century with specific reference to feminism?

 Introduction:

  Feminism’s goal involves a change of degradation concerning the view of women, as it suggests, women are equally valuable as men; therefore a premise of feminism relies on the idea that all women should be the beneficiaries of equal rights pertaining all areas of life; and essentially it focuses on the rule of society and culture by men (Bressler, Literary Criticism 167). With cultural practices and variations and societies growing tolerance concerning women today, there is the tendency to forget the conditions of women in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Early nineteenth century American literatures debated over women’s ‘sphere’.  “That the present position of women in society is the result of physical force, is obvious enough” (The Heath Anthology, 1802).  “There is no measuring the mischief done by the prevailing tendency to teach women to be virtuous as a duty to man rather than to God” (The Heath Anthology, 1804). The welcoming of female writers presently is much a result of how women were treated and their advocacy and portrayal by women writers, majority of who were feminists. Steven Lyn says “feminism critics believe interpretation is influenced by status of gender, class and race” (Lynn, Text and Context 2007). The woman’s world view is of particular interest. Regarding gender issues there exists as noticeable trend in themes, issues and concerns of West Indian writers compared to American writers of the same time frame. However, even with loud cries and protests rejecting their status of inferiority, not until the 1900s did some change occur; and women were, after a long hard struggle, able to vote and echo their voices in issues of critical concern like health care, education, politics and literature. Like any part of the world, West Indian and American writers share common concerns about women issues. A portrayal of women treatment, an exploration of their world can be examined by analyzing the works of women writers in the West Indian and American Diaspora; writers like Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea , Kate Chopin’s, The Story of An Hour  and Charlotte Gilman Perkins, On Advertising for Marriage and Nelly Blys’ Trying to be a Servant .Analyzing a text from this perspective of feminism will help understand more the woman’s concept of the self, worldview, women’s consciousness to abuse and rights.

Mythical_Poet

2010- ENGL448:Seminar in Advanced English Studies